Luckily no stings. What I found odd was that when I went back a few minutes later to see exactly where they were emerging, I bent down about 3 feet away and they did not bother me. I continued working in the garden pruning more peonies (wanted to get it done before the temps got up over 85). I do know you can approach a honey bee hive and as long as you don't stand in the flight path, they will pretty much leave you alone. Maybe the same applied here.